Spatiotemporal distribution of microplastics in Miri coastal area, NW Borneo: inference from a periodical observation.

ABSTRACT: The current study aims to investigate the spatiotemporal distribution of microplastics (MPs) in the Miri coast, targeting their occurrences, characterisation, and potential sources. For a periodical study, coastal sediments were collected from three different time intervals (monsoon, post-monsoon, and post-COVID) and subjected to stereomicroscope, ATR-FTIR, and SEM-EDX analyses. These results show a significant increase of MPs in post-COVID samples by approximately 218% and 148% comparatively with monsoon and post-monsoon samples, respectively. The highest concentration of MPs was detected near the river mouths and industrial areas where the waste discharge rate and anthropogenic activities dominate. Fibre-type MPs are the most abundant, with an average of nearly 64%, followed by fragments

SUBMITTER: Mishra A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10567912 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature